Musings on Life, Work, and Love
Descriptions of my experience living in Italy
Medieval Rugby guard
In case there was any doubt, I’m really enjoying this trip. Every day I have a new adventure, some big some small. On Tuesday I had three adventures in the same day. (So maybe I’m having trouble staying on a publishing schedule…)
Here were my adventures:
Italian Medieval Rugby Continue Reading →
Basilica Santa Croce (Holy Cross)
It only took a week for me to find my places in Florence.
In California I had my winery, my dance hall, and my pizza shop. Now I’m in Florence and I have my piazza (square), my cafe, and my pizza shop. Yes, good pizza is something I take great delight in.
I picked an apartment near the Piazza Santa Croce, whose basilica was begun in 1294 and finished in 1442. It’s huge and gorgeous, built with green, white, and pink marble. There’s a great big square in front of it, which is nice to hang out in when it’s sunny. I like to sit on a bench and study Italian grammar out in the fresh air. As an extrovert, the tourists milling around turn out to be very energizing.
I’m in Florence, in a beautiful apartment with all of life’s essentials: water, heat, and WiFi. It’s been a bumpy ride since Saturday. I moved out of my apartment, flew to Italy via Philly, and got moved in to my apartment.
Saturday was a disaster. I alternated between three scenarios of certain doom. The first was that I would have to miss my flight because I would not get everything done. The second was that I would lose a bunch of money by forfeiting my security deposit or having to pay someone to clean my apartment. The third was that I would lose a bunch of money and still miss my flight. I spent the entire afternoon cursing.
Leonard Bernstein said “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time” I’m not sure I really had a plan. But with the help of several people I was able to pack my bags, store the most important things I wasn’t taking, and give away the rest. Thank you – you know who you are.